Converted

How to spell converted

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce converted

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does converted mean?

1. verbChanged something from one form, function, or purpose into another.
2. adjectiveAltered from its original form or use into a new one.

Converted in a sentence

• verb

  The developer converted the old warehouse into modern flats.

• adjective

  They rented a converted barn for the wedding reception.

• verb

  She converted all her savings into a different currency before the trip.

• adjective

  The couple bought a converted chapel and turned it into a home.

Where does converted come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb convertere, which meant 'to turn around' or 'to turn completely', formed from the prefix com- (here used as an intensifier meaning 'thoroughly') and vertere 'to turn'. Latin used it both literally, for physically turning something, and figuratively, for changing one thing into another or turning a person toward a new belief. English took it in through Old French convertir during the 1200s and 1300s, when it was first strongly associated with religious conversion before broadening to mean any kind of change in form, use, or purpose. The same vertere root still spins quietly inside a family of familiar words such as 'reverse', 'divert', 'vertical', and 'version'. The bare past form simply adds the regular -ed ending, so the only spelling care needed is the unstressed middle vowel, which sounds like a vague schwa rather than the clear 'er' the spelling shows.

How the word is built

• con- (together, thoroughly)
• vert (turn)
• -ed (past-tense/participle suffix)